The Theses on Feuerbach and Decolonising Methodology: A Parallel Walking

This article aims to reflect upon the relevance of Decolonization methodologies with the Theses on Feuerbach. Somehow, all the Indigenous scholars started from new Marxist like Paulo Freire, Frantz Fanon, but not from classic Marx. To us, the German Ideology of young Marx only resembles the pioneering sources of Indigenous methodology. This discussion is thus a reflection of our studies and a philosophic endeavor to talk about the marginal people of the world, and the scholars who engaged in and with the oppressed. However, we are not prepared to turn our attention away from all the vastness of Marx to a collection of potentially equally relevant to Indigenous methodology. This article concludes that the Theses on Feuerbach is the core of Marxist archaeology of knowledge or philosophy as a whole and has been wading in the Indigenous paradigm.

First, it gives a background of German Ideology, or precisely why Marx was dissatisfied with this (that time) ideology. Then, a transition we observe since Marx to the 1990s when Indigenous paradigm/decolonising methodology was emerging in the philosophy of knowledge. Lastly, we will walk parallel with the Theses of Feuerbach and Indigenous methodology that will give us new insight for the marginal people, and helping the policy planners to seek alternatives.
Why did Marx come to economics and see philosophy concerning economics? A very realistic and modern question. Marx, himself, is vital for marginal people for this rational reason, too, though, our personal opinion so far. Again, Marx is the first philosopher in the history of philosophy who took the economy as a matter, or determiner of the human world or human relationships. Marx showed man is 'homo-Faber' own creator, where labour is central. So, to Marx, economics was an extension of philosophy, what we see, among the Indigenous people's land and relationship is the base of their lifeworld. 3 This article focuses on the Theses on Feuerbach, in parallel, the leading texts of Indigenous metaphysics, decolonising, and Indigenous methodology. In it, we refer to Vine Deloria (1969Deloria ( , 1986Deloria ( , 2001, Kawagley (2006), Gregory Cajete (1994Cajete ( , 2000, Hawainese scholar Alluli-Meyer (2013), Linda Smith (2013Smith ( /1999, Bishop (1999) from Maori, Shawn Wilson (2001 of the Cree, Cheroki scholar Jeff Corntassel (2018), Marry Battiste (2019), Martin Nakata (2007), Bagele Chilisa (2011Chilisa ( , 2017, Mangena (2016), , Tengan (2008), Shanon Speed (2016, Margaret Kovach (2015Kovach ( , 2018, Sami scholar Jelena Porsanger (2004).
Reviewing these texts, we will find that the decolonising methodology is deeply rooted in young Marx's thoughts. However, before starting that discussion, it is worthwhile to see the background of Marx and the Theses then the transition between Marx and decolonising stance.

Marx and a stand beyond the enlightenment philosophy
This section ponders a brief analysis of Marx's time so that we will comprehend the root of today's decolonising philosophy and these relations, scholars discussed peripherally. First, one may think that the German Ideology or the Theses is all about his colleague Feuerbach, or his teacher Hegel, or only about German culture, is untrue. These little epigraphic notes of theses are talking about the whole western philosophy since Descartes to Kant to Hegel. In the Phenomenology of Spirit, Hegel explores the phenomenology of the mind or spirit, reintroduces historical developments into psychology and affirms the human mind will achieve absolute knowledge by religion (that Kant says, pure reason, and it has taken first by Descartes, how do I be 'sure' on my knowing?). Indeed, a question about the confirmed knowledge and its affirmation is the modern philosophical turn that led to 'Enlightenment.' Kant's 'What is Enlightenment?' gave the philosophical base to European domination. Second, Enlightenment gave a spatial or temporal notion of time and/or development from the stage of immaturity to maturity. Let us explain more.
The idea maturity is, more likely, I can not be driven or governed myself, and I need guidance, or a law, a book (Holy book by Hegel or Feuerbach). Surprisingly, all western philosophical texts are on the consonant allusion: non-European society is immature, or not enlightened, thus, they are underdeveloped, tribal or primitive. From a 're-reading approach' of decolonising (Smith, LT, 2013) methodology, we see that philosophical texts moralised the Kantian-Hegelian notion of selfconsciousness or reasoning, and early ethnographers have materialised from the field (see, George Peter Murdock's World Ethnographic Atlas (1967). From the Enlightenment text, for instance, Thomas Hobbes' justice is "good intentions of mind (Hobbes 2019(Hobbes : 50 [1883" by Christianity (Krook, 1956) that western colony can do in colonised societies as a form of reciprocity in kind under the social contract. John Locke's notion based on two treatises, liberalisation and labour (Locke, 1947). Francis Bacon's empiricism (Wolfe & Gal. eds., 2010) gives the same message.
Even George Hegel's assumptions of Africa is "unhistorical, undeveloped" (Hegel, 2004, p. 117) or J.S Mill's statement on Indians, "[t]heir minds are not capable of so great an effort" of guiding themselves … (Klausen, 2016, p. 99)" are nothing but the politico-philosophic dominating notion, that Marx refuged. So, the western colony, since they are enlightened, have a mandate and validity of ruling the east, where the aim was to make them developed, enlightened and familiar with European economic and political system (Locke, 1947). In social science, briefly, Malinowski's mentor, for instance, Westermarck (1908), first talked about reciprocity in kind " as a duty" Westermarck (1908,p.154), influenced evolutionism and Christianity. The irony, it was (till now) the role of social sciences (this is a separate discussion, and we did elsewhere 4 ).
Nevertheless, Kant questioned the dogmatic and critical empiricism (Hume) metaphysics of the seventeenth century (Spinoza, Leibniz, Wolff). A systematic sense of individual thought is an alternative to scepticism and fulfills our desire to find a secure foundation of knowledge and beliefs with three stages of development: first, a thesis or assertion of a concept leading to a second step, a reaction or antithesis which opposes or rejects the thesis; and thirdly, a synthesis which addresses the contradictions between the two points. Marx, in reverse, examines the stages of selfconsciousness based on labour. Hegel intended this phase in 'dialectic' in geist or soul that we assert as Hegel: Dialectical Idealist.
In addition to above, religion, according to Hegel, fulfilled the persistent psychological need of man and of the universe in which he could direct himself. After Hegel, Young Hegelians had two groups, 'the Rightists' aligned to religions, (anthropologist philosopher Feuerbach led). The open-air of the heart, this outspoken secret, this uttered sorrow of the soul, is God. God is a tear of love, shed in the deepest concealment over human misery. God is an unutterable sigh, lying in the depths of the heart (Feuerbach, 1854,p.121. note, emphasis ours).
Marx thus said Hegel and Feuerbach made the philosophy as a theology. Marx has never been the continuation of Feuerbach's 'anthropo-aesthetic' materialism, but a dialectical understanding of Hegel's phenomenology with materialistic essence. Instead of soul or 'giest.' So Feuerbach is as in Landa Smith's writing after 150 years. Even after careful consultation with Marx, one would realise that Christianity is a synonymous market economy. Thus, religion is to him the 'opium,' like the painkillers of oppressed people. Marx, therefore, condemned the heavenly illusion into the earthly matter or in a secular setting.
"My dialectic method is not only different from the Hegelian but is its direct opposite. To Hegel, the life-process of the human brain, i.e., the process of thinking, which, under the name of "the Idea", he even transforms into an independent subject, is the determiner of the real world, and the real world is only the external, phenomenal form of "the Idea". With me, on the contrary, the ideal is nothing else than the material world reflected by the human mind, and translated into forms of thought. The mystification which dialectic suffers in Hegel's hands by no means prevents him from being the first to present its general form of working in a comprehensive and conscious manner. With him it is standing on its head. It must be turned right side up again, if you would discover the rational kernel within the mystical shell. (Marx 2000, p. 420)". Therefore, Marx's engagement with Hegel was not as supplanted but reversed. Analogically, Marx put the rejection of theology into the rule and religious illusion under political circumstances.
Therefore, in essence, we summarise that Marx has four major critical areas of the western, Hegelian philosophical notion down to the street.
1. Too limited, that German Ideology is an inadequate explanation of why people engage in psycho-genesis. Psychogenesis is, as dictionary form, the origin, and development of something abstract, or in plain, making a garden in one's images. Marx said that FB is too limited to explain the psychogenesis reasoning of people; in other words, the situation of the oppressed situation.
2. Too vague, Feuerbach's text, as Marx said, is too melodious. Moreover, The Essence of Christianity is a devotional book to Christianity. Marx is a profane man, writing with bites. He does not like people to be covered and masked by an illusionary spirit.
Psychogenegis resulted from an economic tyranny, rather wistful projection of provoking market economy because the time is middle of the industrial revolution.
3. Too religious, Feuerbach was as an atheist but religious. Marx said that worship became a crypt in human relationships.
4. Too sentimental, where we see Feuerbach wanted people to be 'mitmensch' the fellow men to God based on 'love,' Marx wanted base would be the labour in philosophical speculations.
The discussion above presents Marx and his philosophical position. Since Marx to the Indigenous paradigm, we observe a transition, which we will be focusing on now. This transition is the seedbed of today's decolonising stand. So, now we will turn to see the transition from Marx to Decolonising methodology through post-colonial (we say anti-colonial, Smith, LT, 2013) clarification.

Marx to the decolonising paradigm: the transition
This section, to a modest extent, covers the transitional thinkers and their works since Marx to Declonizng stand of social science. Until the 1940s, there has the silence of Marxism. When a group of scholars fleed from Germany by Hitler, and after the 2 nd World War, we observe a shift.
Current social policies failed. Frankfurtian sociologist Max Horkheimer first defined the Critical theory in 1937. A decade later, Horkheimer and Adorno published Dialectic of Enlightenment (1947). In it, the Culture Industry concept, the first time, argued about the whole enlightenment as our thinking is not liberalised or free; somewhat, it is shaped by others. Heidegger's aimed for 'destruction' of the history of philosophy-this was the transformation by retracing history. It is, to us, another root of Derrida's deconstruction, that is seen in the Critical thought, "to liberate human beings from the circumstances that enslave them" (Horkheimer, 1972, p.242) as enlightenment "culture today is infecting everything with sameness" (Horkheimer & Adorno, 2002,p.95). At that time, also, Louis Althusser, like Marcus in Germany, developed a tradition of  (Denzin, Lincoln, & Smith, 2008).
However, few names, above all, changed the landscape of the marginal people and influenced the indigenous scholars from western captivity of knowledge and power. Their anti-colonial attack on western thought was wading deeply. Mohandas K. Gandhi, widely known as Mahatma (Great Soul) comes first for his towering voice and actions against colony in Indian and African societies as his granddaughter Leela Gandhi asserts (Gandhi, 2019). Scholars consider him as non-violent, but we claim, Mahatma was a violent activist against the Britsh Raj. We see from his biography, "in the last fight, Gandhi warned a mass meeting in Bombay soon after his return from England, the people had to face lathis [wooden stick used for village fighting], but this time they would have to face bullets (Nanda, 1968, p. 332)." Frantz Fannon (1967), possibly named after Gandhi in the post-colonial school. Fanonian thought carries a significant impact beyond academia, as "white souls" or invisible racism is a central obstacle in independent nations for decolonising movement (Chilisa, 2011). Malaysian sociologist-politician Syed Hussein Alatas (1972) identified the intellectuals are having 'captive mind' that has a significant influence on the DM and IRP (Chilisa, 2011). Edward Said, like Alatas, a scholar-politician and a life-long critic of colonialism, imperialism bought him as "professor of terrorism" 6 for support Palestine. Said is deeply connected for historical subjugation by the West (Smith, LT. 2013). Besides Thiong'o Ngugi's (Wa Thiong'o, 1992), 'colonised mind' inspired by Fanon, and Spivak's 'epistemic violence' (Spivak, 2013), Paolo Frieri's 'Critical pedagogy' is even more, pugnacious to colonialism.
Mahatma, Fanon, Said, Alatas, Spivak as a whole, are not only the radical refusal of the west or their philosophical ideas but they are, as we think, 'practical-critical' activists with their profound emancipation to the oppressed. We thus observe later on, Indigenous scholars (Wilson, 2001;Smith, LT, 2013) have a deep concern about the intellectual violence. In the above discussion, we saw that Critical and anti-colonial schools mediated to Indigenous paradigm, very important however, both are not the same. The reason is that Indigenous paradigm has separately spiritualised in social research issues. Although, Linda Smith 1999, Shawn Wilson in 2001 (in the early times), moderately adopted Critical theory in Indigenous settings in 1999 7 . Nevertheless, Indigenous research has developed with its philosophical status, analytical efficiency, and scientific validity, and we find a genealogical relationship with the Theses and the theme of the Indigenous paradigm.

Theses of Feuerbach and Decolonising methodology (DM): the journey
This final section presents the thematic assimilations with the Theses and decolonising methodologies. DM's total versatility is opened to understand how it is intrinsically linked with its original root. Both in Marx's. Let us discuss this topic delicately.  (Wilson, 2008;Chilisa, 2011;Kovach, 2015).

Thesis ii: The question whether objective [gegenständliche] truth can be attained by human
thinking is not a question of theory but is a practical question. It is in practice that man must prove the truth, that is, the reality and power, the this-sidedness [Diesseitigkeit ] of his thinking. The dispute over the reality or unreality of thinking which is isolated from practice is a purely scholastic question.
Karen Martin and Marriboopara (2003) say that Indigenous people's everyday life, struggle, resistance are important than any others. Agreeing with Chalmers (2017), decolonising approaches is needed to enlighten Indigenous methodology, to enlighten us, our research trip. Our view is that each methodology is somehow, sidelined the totality of the community, and interpreted partially (Smith, LT, 2013) and represented so (Said, 1979). Subsequently, indigenous decolonisation Page | 14 consolidates the physical, emotional, and spiritual processes (Alluli-Meyer, 2013) because of imperialism's effects on body, mind, and spirit (Fanon, 1967;Spivak, 2013). Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and acting (Martin and Marriboopara, 2003) are the determinants of what constituted reality, Marx depicts this reality 170 years earlier. For a 'just' and an equity-based world, "[our stories] have also become spaces of resistance and hope (Smith, LT, 2013, p.4). Similarly, Indigenous scholars (Tuck, McKenzie, & McCoy, 2014;Steinman, 2016;Brown & Strega, Eds. 2005;Jeff Corntassel, 2009Kovack, 2018, Windchief & San Pedro, Eds. 2019 call for a movement for resistance from education, research and even practical ground to remove the social inequality and against the state policies (Andrae, McIntosh & Coster, 2017) in minimising the interfaces (Nakata, 2007). Also, Chilisa (2011), referring to anticolonial philosopher Syed Alatas, says that intellectuals are captive, they work for the state, state policies instead of peoples' transformation. Marx says in A contribution to the Critique Political Economy, 'although I studied jurisprudence, I pursued it as a subject subordinated to philosophy and history' that is the major critique in decolonising paradigm. As we see in Capita Vol-1, Marx Says, [h]ow, then, to heal the anti-capitalistic cancer of the colonies? If men were willing, at a blow, to turn all the soil from the public into private property, they would destroy certainly the root of the evil, but alsothe colonies. The trick is how to kill two birds with one stone (Capital, Chapter 31).

Thesis-V: Feuerbach, not satished with abstract thinking, appeals to sensuous intuition;
but he does not conceive sensuousness as practical, human-sensuous activity.

Thesis-VI: Feuerbach dissolves the religious essence into the human essence. But the human essence is no abstraction inherent in each single individual. In its reality it is the ensemble of social relations
Thesis-VII: Consequently, Feuerbach does not see that the "religious sentiment" is itself a social product, and that the abstract individual he analyses belongs in reality to a determinate form of society.
Thesis -VIII: Social life is essentially practical. All mysteries which lead theory astray into mysticism find their rational solution in human practice and in the comprehension of this practice.
These four Theses, sophistication and plotlines, are not the same, but more similar, so we have clustered for parallel walking with DM. Again, Linda Smith, like Marx, pointed the Christianity, and of course, the colonial power. Smith boldly says, "Christianity, when organised into a system of power, brought to bear on these basic concepts a focus of systematic study and debate which could then be used to regulate all aspects of social and spiritual life (Smith LT, 2013, p. 49). Smith elaborated more. "Western philosophies and religions place the individual as the basic building block of society (Smith, 2013, p. 49)." Marx fingered Hegel, very judiciously, Smith did so by saying, "Hegel's dialectic on the self and society has become the most significant model for thinking about this relationship (p.49) based religion or spirituality or love --was the passionate message of Hegelian thought. However, religion is, again, one aspect of the Indigenous people, never the dominant or whole of life that we see in figure-1. Indigenous scholars (Hart, 2010;Wilson, 2008;Rigney, 1999) addressed that issues of totality, the embeddedness of the cultural elements with a reciprocal relation Simpsons (2014;Tengan, 2008). The reciprocal relation of a culture of Indigenous metaphysics, very fundamentally correlated with these Theses, and Linda Smith puts four directions such are: Decolonization, Healing, Transformation and Mobilization but a process but see human relation is a practical element with living and non-living things based on reciprocity. 8 From practical experiences, we assert as "Reciprocity is all-encompassing. It has three angles, one, demands 'connectivity' with revealing that past i, e with Indigenous history, oppression; it rewrites the history for rewriting the land, language. It asserts the 'contributing' as reporting with and within the of the people's physical, social, psychological, spiritual healing--individual and collective, and finally, it is 'collaborating' with a reflection of past, and present for decolonising political, social, academic (knowledge democracy) and psychological fabrication in order for ensuring social justice. Reciprocity is all about transformation in terms of social, political, economic and spiritual." (Siraz, Wahab & Saad, 2020, forthcoming)  Materialism or the western paradigm does not fit in Indigenous settings (Deloria, 1969;Kovach 2015Kovach , 2018Wilson, 2008). Explicitly, father of relational research Shawn Wilson says, "….dominant paradigms build on the fundamental belief that knowledge is an individual entity: the researcher is an individual in search for knowledge may be owned by an individual. An Indigenous paradigm comes from the fundamental belief that knowledge is relational. Knowledge is shared with all of creation (Wilson, 2001, p.176)". Tracey McIntosh furthered that idea referring to Marx, "[o]f course, as we have learned from Marx, it is not sufficient to understand an oppressive social phenomenon: we must also be prepared to work to change it. Oppression cannot be lifted solely by facing up to or even appreciating differences. It can only come with the shifting and transforming of power relations (Mcintosh, 2006, p.60). 9 Thesis x: The standpoint of the old materialism is "civil" society, the standpoint of the new is human society or socialized humanity.
This 'standpoint' is one of the significant concepts in decolonising paradigms (Nakata, 2007).
Indigenous Standpoint came through the transition of feminism (Hartsock, 1983) but rooted in the thesis-x, as we are seeing. Martin Nakata judiciously adapted this term standpoint in Indigenous settings in order for securing 'socialised humanity' and advanced by others (Foley. 2003;Moreton-Robinson, 2013). Indigenous standpoint theory (hereafter IST), and the IRP is a timely appeal for researchers frequently found that Western ideas are not well adapted to recognising indigenous people, history and their cosmologies (Foley, 2003;Nakata, 2007;Rigney, 1999Rigney, , 2017Smith, LT., 2013. The integration of a person's multiple dimensions shapes a standpoint-a point, a particularity, social inclusion-by which individual views and conceives the universe (Rigney, 1999) where the individual is historically marginalised (see, Chickasaw scholar Shanon Speed This last epigraph is Marx's epitaph, the core of the whole Marxist ocean. Linda Smith says Indigenous paradigm is "to make a positive difference" (Smith, LT 2013,p.131). Pointedly, the thesis-xi and Linda Smith's statement, and the figure-2, marked the line of demarcation of all western paradigm and Indigenous methodology or the role of the researchers. Across the world, Indigenous paradigm is talking about change (Gómez, Puigvert, & Flecha, 2011;Tuck & Yang, 2012;Grande, 2015;Hunt & Holmes, 2015;Porsanger, 2004;Smith, L. T., Maxwell, Puke & Temara, 2016;Simpson, 2014;Coulthard, 2014;Simpson, L. B., 2017;Coronel-Molina, 2015) that makes it a direct genealogical relation with the eleventh thesis of Marx (Transformative research and engagement is pioneered in Indigenous paradigm not only Deloria, recently, Shanon Speed, who stared her doctoral thesis from an active engagement with the community, 10 undoubtedly, an example for the youths. "I believe that critically engaged activist research is vital to addressing, if not resolving, the inherent tension (Speed, 2006,p.59)." Similar to Shanon, others also engaged beyond academia, such are Adura Simpsons (2014) with Mohawk, Jeff Corntassel (2009) with Cherokees, Linda Smith and other (Ware, Breheny & Forster, 2018) with Maori.
Moreover, they developed a unique concept working with communities, for example, Kaupapa Maori as an approach. Hawaiian scholars, Ty Kawika Tengan (Tengan, 2008) introduced the term Kapa Aloa 11 in everyday practice as a guiding transforming and liberating force and others Alulli-Meyer (2013),  advanced this idea. Another concept, 'Ubuntu,' I am because we are (Mangena, 2016), we feel congruent with the Marxist idea. Ubuntu has been a stand for harmony, justice, and reciprocity (Chilisa, 2011,p.189). Long before, therefore, Vine Deloria clearly says about this, … "scholars should be required to put something (Deloria, 1991,p.457)."

Concluding remarks: 'practical-critical' reflection
In this article, we have seen Marx targeted Ludwig Feuerbach's 'naturalistic and humanistic criticism of religion. Marx thinks he has found a way to bring most of his philosophic aims into one endeavour. We then observed a transitional, liminal phase of indigenous metaphysics. This transitional thoughts such as feminism, queer theory, the theory of races, everything as we see, "the philosophers [and thinkers] have only interpreted the world in various ways," or critically, but not practically. Therefore inevitably, Indigenous methodology emerged with 'practicality' along with a critical stand, echoing Marx's, DM continues to insist at the overarching point: 'change it.' We know it would not happen inexorably; therefore, scholars are working around the world.
In sum, we walked in parallel with the Theses of Feuerbach and the theme of Indigenous methodology, and conclude that a ''practical-critical' stand may bring the real transformation for the human society. Not only the 'the philosophers,' but all researchers including the youth even should not 'only interpreted the world,' with some imposed model and theories instead will be working by the people's 'standpoint', with the people and for the people 'to change' the historically dehumanising condition. 10 Since 1996,1 have worked in Chiapas as an activist for hu? man rights and indigenous rights. As part of an activist research project, I conducted doctoral and postdoctoral work and collaborated with two different human-rights organizations Speed, 2006, p.67). 11 It is cultaral and political practice. Kapu Aloha Always: 1. NO weapons, 2. NO smoking of any kind and NO alcohol. 3 MĀLAMA each other. 4 Ask consent for any pictures or video.5 Pick up ʻōpala you see. 6 BE PONO, Pono is a Hawaiian word commonly rendered as "righteousness". For instance, the Hawaii state motto: Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono or "The sovereignty of the land is perpetuated in righteousness Retrived from https://www.puuhuluhulu.com/. And the youtube post: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AX7kTOHNjYU. In other words, "a kapu aloha, an injunction to extend kindness, empathy, and love to one another (Tengan, 2008, p. 104)".